Give me Love
by animerockchic
Summary: Ever just feel like you need someone there? Someone who seems to be able to put up with your crap? Someone who's just there when you need them? Someone... to give you love?


**So yeah, my English teacher asked us to write a 1000 word short story with the title "Give me Love" as the prompt (as in the Ed Sheeran song but there's a whole other story to that). Most of the class was like " Miss, how the hell can we do a a story on that?" and I was just *picks up pen* "You want a story, I'll give you a fucking story." And when I'd finished, she got me to read this 4 front-and-back-A4-page story in front of the whole class. Then I lost the last page and had to rewrite it OTL So here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Hetalia nor Give me Love by ****Ed Sheeran**. I also don't own the original final approx 1/4 of this, it's probably blowing in the wind somewhere.

"_Do you know what it's like when_

_You're scared to see yourself?"_

"Lovino are you listening to me?"

"_Do you know what it's like when _

_You wish you were someone else?"_

"Lovino!"

Lovino's grandfather yanked the headphones out of his grandson's ears. "Listen to me!"

Lovino glanced up at his grandfather's still vaguely young face. "What now?"

"Don't give me that attitude, boy. I will not tolerate it. Now, I'm going to be home late tonight so you and Feliciano have to make your own dinner; is that understood?"

Lovino stuck his headphones back in and slouched out of the room. "Whatever."

"Why can't you be more like your brother and show me some respect?! And another thing..."

Lovino slammed the front door shut before his grandfather could continue. He kicked the tyre of the parked car in the drive in frustration. _'Be more like Feliciano, be more like your brother, why aren't you more like him, he's so good and sweet and happy and you're just not.'_ Lovino was sick to the back teeth of his brother being put on an insurmountable pedestal and him being left in the dirt. What was so wrong about being himself? Even if he tried to be a bit like Feliciano (which he had, a million times), he was still second-best. He drew something; Feliciano's would be a billion times better. He'd cook something; Feliciano would swoop in, take over and get praised to the heavens for it.

Lovino sighed and shook his head. He turned up the volume on his iPod and continued walking to school.

He threw his bag beside the piano stool in the music room and slumped into the stool. Double music first thing in the morning was the only this that kept him from killing himself and everyone else around him that day. Well, maybe not killing – just raging. A lot.

He adjusted the stool in front of the electric keyboard, plugged in the headphones and began playing. For a few minutes it was just him and the music. Aerith's Theme from Final Fantasy, if you must know. Music was the only thing in Lovino's life that was really his. Everything else had Feliciano's stamp on it. With music, he didn't have be anything else. Just himself.

Someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Lovino spun around, hissing and spitting, the headphones sliding off his ears slightly. A guy with bright green eyes and messy brown curls smiled back at him.

"Eh, sorry to interrupt you, but is this the music room?"

Lovino deadpanned. "No. It's the chemistry lab."

"Oh." The guy's face fell slightly.

"Can you tell me where the music room is, then?"

Lovino let his head hit off the piano keys. "You're in it right now."

The guy tilted his head in confusion. "But you said this was the chemistry lab." Lovino groaned and facepalmed. It was way too early for this level of idiocy. "I know I said that. But isn't the fact that there's musical instruments everywhere, musical terms on the walls and a big fucking sign on the door saying 'Music Room' enough of a hint that this is the fucking music room? Did you _really_ have to disturb me to find out, bastard?!"

The guy pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "You sure are grumpy."

Lovino readjusted the headphones and turned back to the piano. "Yeah, well, that's who I am. The world can go suck it."

And back he went to his piano playing. At least, until it was interrupted by a thunderous crash of discordant notes, that is. Lovino ripped off the headphones and glared at the guy who had his hands flat on an assortment of notes.

"Now what, bastard?! I'm playing here!"

"What's your name? Mine's Antonio~!" Antonio smiled at Lovino. The smaller Italian scowled.

"Lovino."

"Aw~" Antonio pinched Lovino's cheek. "That's such a cute name."

Lovino jerked away, metaphorical hackles raised. "The hell, jerk?! My cheeks are not for pinching! And don't call me cute!"

"But that's what you are~! You're like a little puppy growling and trying to look tough, it's so adorable."

Lovino pushed Antonio away. "Trust me, I'm not. If you're looking for cute then go find my stupid little brother instead."

Antonio wiggled excitedly in his eat. "You have a brother? What's he like? I bet he's cute like you~!"

Lovino scoffed. "Now there's an oxymoron."

Antonio blinked rapidly. "Oxy what?"

Lovino arched an eyebrow. "Doesn't matter. Now leave me the fuck alone." He shoved the headphones back on and turned back to the piano. Antonio pulled them away from Lovino's ears.

"But I wanna talk to youuuuu~!"

Lovino scoffed derisively. "No, you don't. Just leave me the fuck alone."

Antonio opened his mouth to speak just as the school bell trilled loudly and students began milling idly into the room. The teacher strode in minutes after and put about half a tree's worth of paper on her desk.

"Now listen up, class. There's a music competition coming up and I want all of you to enter as groups. I'll screen you all as a pre-audition and as part of your summer tests." She smiled at the group at large and clapped her hands. "Alrighty then. Into groups! Allons-y!"

Antonio latched onto Lovino and gazed up at him. "Lovi~? Can I go with you~?"

"Now I want everyone to be in at least pairs. No one is to be left on their own," the teacher called across the room.

Lovino sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do you play any instruments?"

"Guitar, and I sing, too~!"

Lovino carefully prised Antonio's arms off him. "Are you any good?"

Antonio shrugged. "I'm pretty good. You?"

"I'm self-taught and don't perform. Ever."

Antonio picked up the headphones and waved them around excitedly. "Oh. Oh. OH! Can I hear you? Please! Please! Please~!"

Lovino sighed and turned back to the piano. "Any requests?"

Antonio slid on the headphones and smiled. "Just something you think I'd like."

Lovino mentally rifled through his repertoire before choosing an old favourite of his. His fingers found the keys and began their graceful dance across the ivory. Even after the last note was long over, Antonio continued to stare at the keys utterly transfixed.

"Oi." Lovino clicked his fingers at Antonio. "Wake up."

Antonio laughed shakily, removing the headphones. "That was... amazing. I got chills."

Lovino scoffed. "Fucking liar. It wasn't that great."

"So you two boys are in a group together, right?" The teacher breezed into the conversation with a clipboard. The two nodded in assent. "So that's Lovino Vargas and...?"

Antonio smiled at her. "Antonio. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo." The teacher nodded, scribbling down the two names. "So you're one of the Spanish students. How long are you here for?"

"'Til Christmas."

The teacher smiled and nodded at him. "Well, welcome to the school, Antonio." She moved to continue her round of the classroom. "So you're only here until Christmas?"

Antonio turned to smile at Lovino's scowl of uncertainty."Yup~! Then I go home to Madrid. Why? Is Lovi sad?"

Lovino pushed him away. "Hell no! You leaving at Christmas is fucking fine by me! Means I don't have to deal with stupid you for a whole year!" Lovino jerked his head towards the rack of guitars. "Now, you've heard me. Let's hear you."

"Okay~!" Antonio practically skipped across the room for a guitar and rejoined Lovino with one. "Any requests?"

Lovino repressed a smile with difficulty. "Knock yourself out."

Antonio smirked and began to play "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift, of all things, and sang along with it. Lovino sat listening in silence until the first chorus then began adding a harmony line on the piano. (Yes, he knew the chords to Safe and Sound – so sue him.) He unplugged the headphones on the keyboard first, of course.

Antonio finished playing and looked up at Lovino with shining eyes. "That was brilliant!"

Lovino forced down another smiled, this time with a lot more difficulty. "It was alright. We need way more practise though."

"Oh! You can practise at my house~!"

"Do you have a piano?"

Antonio thought long and hard. "...No."

Lovino shook his head, chuckling lightly. "We'll practise tonight at my house then. My grandpa's going to be home late and my stupid little brother's not home half the time. It's on Terrace Green, the third house."

Antonio gasped in delight. "That's where I'm staying! My host's house is the fourth one! We're neighbours, Lovi~! Lovino rolled his with a slightly amused sigh. "Oh, _great_. Living next to a fucking Spanish idiot for the next few months."

That got him a poke to the cheek from Antonio. "Well, I'm looking forward to living next to an adorable Italian grumpy-puss."

Yet another difficult to repress smile.

_~Time skip~_

Antonio pounded through the already familiar corridors, heart thumping madly. What on earth had gotten into Lovino? They'd been practising at Lovino's house just as they had been for the past month and a half. Lovino had taken a break from the piano after playing the most amazing piece ever. Then his cute little brother had strolled in and started messing around on the piano. Lovino had shoved his brother away and dashed out of the house.

Antonio hesitated at the music room door. Behind it was the sound of heart-wrenching sobs. Antonio rested his hand on the handle then roughly pushed it open.

There, sitting in the exact same spot he had been all those weeks ago with his head in his hands, was Lovino. He glanced up, wiping his streaming nose with the back of his hand and turned away.

"Fu...fuck off Antonio, okay?"

Antonio crossed the room and kneeled down beside him, taking his hand. "Oh, Lovi... What's wrong? Tell me, please."

Lovino shook his head, wrenching his hand from Antonio's. Casting a side-along glance at the keyboard, Antonio pulled up a chair beside Lovino. "Why don't you talk through the piano? You're really good at that."

"No!" Lovino buried his face in his hands, his shoulders beginning to shake dramatically. "He's taken it. He takes everything! He fucking takes _everything_ from me!"

In a brief moment of clarity, Antonio understood exactly what he meant. He took both of Lovino's wrists and gently prised his hands away from his face.

"Lovino, please look at me." Lovino's bloodshot eyes hesitantly met Antonio's then darted away. "He hasn't taken it. Your brother can't take away how amazing you are... A-at playing the piano, I mean. You're both so different and wonderful in your own ways. Here, like this. Feliciano, he's a firework, all bright lights and sounds. And you..." He rummaged in his pocket, pulled out something and rested it in Lovino's palm.

"...I'm a fucking _rock_? You suck at pep talks."

Antonio shook his head, taking the two halves of the rock and pulling them gently apart to reveal a glittering inside.

"A geode Lovi. Something that seems so rocky and painful and hurtful on the outside, but on the inside..." Their eyes met. "On the inside, they're beautiful. The world just never takes the time to look." Antonio pressed Lovino's other hand over the geode. "I want you to keep this. So even when I go back to Spain, you'll still know just how incredible you are. Even if I'm not here to remind you."

Lovino wrapped his arms around Antonio's shoulders; the geode clutched tightly in his hand and whispered, "Thank you, Antonio. T-thank you so much."

Antonio returned the hug happily. "No, thank _you, _Lovi."

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Ja!**

**-Animerockchic**


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